"Lord Kaido, those samurais are quite troublesome."
Watching Kaido's confident demeanor, Kurozumi Orochi couldn't help but speak up. At this point, Kaido was his last hope for revenge against Wano Country. If Kaido couldn't suppress Wano Country, then his good days were likely numbered.
"Samurais?"
Kaido shook his head disdainfully. If those samurais were truly formidable, Wano Country wouldn't have remained closed off for so long.
"Don't underestimate those samurais, Lord Kaido. Take the renowned name in Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, for example. His ancestor, Shimotsuki Ryuma, is said to have beheaded a divine dragon in the skies of Wano. It's said that at that time, the divine dragon was directly decapitated, and its blood stained the land of Wano."
Kurozumi Orochi spoke with a fawning smile.
"What did you say?!"
With Kurozumi Orochi's words, Kaido erupted in fury.
If what was said was true, then the previous user of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Dragon Form, had been beheaded in Wano. This was a disgrace for Kaido as a fellow Devil Fruit user.
Subsequently, a strong wind swept through the room, and Kaido's body began to transform into a dragon. He flew out of the window, transforming into a massive dragon in the sky, heading towards Ringo.
"Lord Kaido!"
Seeing this, King followed suit, leaping out of the window and transforming into his toothless-winged dragon form to chase after Kaido.
"Hahaha, it seems that Kaido is also a simple-minded fellow."
Watching Kaido and King disappear into the distance, Kurozumi Orochi let out a strange laugh.
"Dum dum~"
Accompanied by the sound of musical instruments, Kurozumi Higurashi approached Orochi, watching the dragon in the sky and King chasing after him, and said, "That's because of confidence in one's own strength. If you, Lord Orochi, had the power of the top-tier figures on the sea, you could easily take over Wano Country."
"Lord, can we just sit idly by while Hakumai falls? Lord Yasuie is a member of the Shimotsuki clan after all!"
"Exactly, we can't just stand by and watch."
Inside the mansion of the Ringo Daimyo, several samurais spoke earnestly to Shimotsuki Ushimaru sitting at the head. However, Shimotsuki Ushimaru just picked up his sake gourd, took a few sips, wiped his mouth, and looked at them.
Seeing Shimotsuki Ushimaru's actions, all the samurais quieted down.
"Ever since the Shimotsuki clan became the daimyo of Hakumai, they've cut off ties with the Shimotsuki clan of Ringo. Don't forget, if it weren't for the poisoning of the Kozuki clan by the Kurozumi clan, the daimyo of Hakumai wouldn't have fallen to the Shimotsuki clan!"
The fact that the Shimotsuki clan could hold the positions of daimyo in both Hakumai and Ringo might make it seem like they were second only to the Kozuki clan in terms of strength. But the forced departure of Shimotsuki Kōsaburo from Wano was a huge blow to the Shimotsuki clan. Only the samurais understood the immense value of a master swordsmith like Kōsaburo, who could have attracted countless samurais to join the Shimotsuki clan by forging exceptional swords.
At that moment, a strong wind arose outside, and the samurais inside the room sensed something amiss. Shimotsuki Ushimaru was the first to grab his sword and rush to the rooftop.
Then, figures appeared from all around, all facing upwards.
"That's... a dragon?!"
Seeing the dragon in the night sky, many samurais were filled with fear.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru, on the other hand, had a sudden palpitation in his heart and shivered all over. As someone who had heard stories of his ancestors slaying dragons since childhood, he knew how terrifying these mythical creatures were.
But as someone who aspired to surpass his ancestors, he saw an opportunity right before him.
As the massive dragon's cold eyes swept over the ground, they met Shimotsuki Ushimaru's trembling figure.
He could tell that the opponent was not afraid, but excited.
Clang!
Shimotsuki Ushimaru drew his sword in a swift motion.
Veins popped on his forehead.
"Dual Sword Style: Great Dragon Whirlwind!"
Shimotsuki Ushimaru swung his sword with all his might, unleashing a massive tornado of sword energy towards the dragon in the sky.
In the night sky, Kaido, transformed into a dragon, noticed the approaching tornado of sword energy. He looked down at Shimotsuki Ushimaru, wearing a cold smirk.
"Is this all you've got?"
This result left Shimotsuki Ushimaru incredulous, and the surrounding samurais were equally shocked.
Kaido's dragon body, unaffected by the seemingly powerful Dual Sword Style Great Dragon Whirlwind, didn't sustain any damage, not even a scratch. If anything, his scales gleamed brighter after the attack, as if they had received a polish.
The outcome left Shimotsuki Ushimaru incredulous, and the surrounding samurais were equally astonished.
Dragon-form Kaido looked down at Shimotsuki Ushimaru, nostrils spewing out sparks, and coldly said, "Ohohoho~ So this is the descendant of the dragon-slaying warrior from years past. Quite disappointing. It seems that what your ancestors slew was nothing but a pseudo-dragon with an empty reputation."
"Do not tarnish the name of our ancestors! Follow me, everyone, let's slay the dragon!"
As soon as the words fell, Shimotsuki Ushimaru and the surrounding samurais directly shot up from the ground, wielding their blades as they charged towards Kaido in the sky.
Meanwhile, the serpentine dragon body of Kaido, swirling in the night sky, resembled a tangible spiral cyclone.
Dragon Cyclone: Demolition gust!
As the massive dragon body rotated, it released numerous elongated wind blades, assaulting the samurais below.
The quantity of wind blades was too many, completely sealing off any space for evasion.
And their speed was extremely fast, reaching the samurais in the blink of an eye.
The continuous onslaught of wind blades slashed at the samurais.
Hiss!
Limbs and arms mixed with a large amount of blood were splattered onto the ground.
The long sword held by severed arms fell from the sky, embedding itself into the ground, emitting a faint, mournful cry.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru looked around at the hellish scene, his companions' blood splattering on his face, turning his vision crimson.
"Ancestor…"
At this moment, Shimotsuki Ushimaru looked at the figure of Kaido in the sky, and the unmatched power, unable to help but mutter to himself. Only by facing such an opponent firsthand could one truly feel the strength of Shimotsuki Ryuma back then.
Then, Shimotsuki Ushimaru once again raised his sword and charged towards Kaido. After all, he was the descendant of Shimotsuki Ryuma and couldn't afford to disgrace his ancestors!
"You are weak..."
Seeing Shimotsuki Ushimaru on the rooftop not far away, panting heavily with dual swords in hand, Kaido felt somewhat bored.
If the opponent's strength was just a bit higher, perhaps they could have pierced through his defense.
But after so long of stretching his muscles, he was getting impatient.
He didn't feel like wasting any more time here. With that in mind, Kaido opened his dragon mouth and began to brew a scorching dragon breath.
Dragons Breath!
The scorching flames erupted from his dragon mouth, aiming to engulf Shimotsuki Ushimaru below.
At that moment, a white figure flashed in and stood before the approaching flames.
The white figure raised his right hand, facing the incoming scorching breath head-on.
Boom!!!
The scorching flames clashed violently with the white figure in mid-air, scattering into all directions. Small flames fell to the ground like a grand fireworks display.
After a moment.
As the flames dissipated, the scene in the sky was revealed.
"Nicholas!!!"
High above, facing the sudden appearance of the figure, Kaido roared in anger.
And Nicholas, surrounded by crackling purple-black lightning, hovered in the air, looking down coldly at the dragon-shaped Kaido.
"Kaido."
Kaido's dragon face was filled with cold killing intent as he sneered, "Ohoho... I never thought I'd encounter you here. Do you know how much I've missed you?! Albert Nicholas!"
In response, a Z-shaped lightning crackled with a dazzling purple-black light.
It was Nicholas's newly developed technique, Z-Flash.
A lightning attack with penetrating properties, it sliced through the air in a Z-shape, hitting Kaido squarely in the jaw.
The force of the attack lifted the front half of Kaido's dragon body high into the air, and the scales on his jaw shattered into pieces.
"With a body this massive, what use do you have other than bullying those weaker than yourself?"
Nicholas raised his hand, and around him, numerous iron sand particles floated in the air, indicating his intention to unleash the Railgun.
"Immortality? Just watch and learn, did you really take your fragile scales seriously?"
[AN-This chapter took way too long to edit and presentable, so please show your support]